I just ran a cashmere sweater through the washing machine. It's fine. You may ask why I would take such a risk? The answer - Spring cleaning.
Protecting your wool and woolens is a prime objective for knitters. One fact that I came across was that clean woolen items don't attract moths as readily. Moths go for body sweat and dirt. Eeeugh! So one of my Spring cleaning resolutions is to wash all my woolens. Doing them all by hand, given the time and space that I have, might mean not finishing until next Spring! I decided to experiment with a sweater that had already been victimized by moths. I put the sweater into a mesh lingerie bag, added a little Eucalan and washed it in the machine on a delicate/knits cycle with a warm wash/cold rinse cycle.
It survived! It's fine and laid out flat to dry. Got to go - more sweaters to wash!
Protecting your wool and woolens is a prime objective for knitters. One fact that I came across was that clean woolen items don't attract moths as readily. Moths go for body sweat and dirt. Eeeugh! So one of my Spring cleaning resolutions is to wash all my woolens. Doing them all by hand, given the time and space that I have, might mean not finishing until next Spring! I decided to experiment with a sweater that had already been victimized by moths. I put the sweater into a mesh lingerie bag, added a little Eucalan and washed it in the machine on a delicate/knits cycle with a warm wash/cold rinse cycle.
It survived! It's fine and laid out flat to dry. Got to go - more sweaters to wash!
5 comments:
Somewhere I read to use Irish Spring soap when packing away the woolens. At least that would smell good.
Also, Trader Joe's has lavender sachets (I think 3 in the pkg) for a reasonable price.
I buy cashmere and silk yarn at colourmart.com. I also lurk on their Yahoo groups (I am a member). That is where I first heard about washing cashmere in the washing machine. I have not tried it yet, but plan to. I guess it allows the cashmere to bloom to it full potential. Amazing.
HI! For whatever reason, cashmere does not shrink the same way as sheep's wool does. Though it doesn't like agressive washes.
Just a tidbit of information.
Another method of cleaning my wool sweaters is the Sally Melville "soak". Just fill the washer with water and gentle soap, leave the sweaters in the water awhile with the lid of the washer open so there is no agitation. The sweaters that need agitation? Well, I do it by hand and when the washing is complete, I crank the knob over to the spin cycle. The sweaters are then rinsed the same way they are washed. The spin cycle is great and since the sweaters aren't so wet, I can lay them flat to dry!
I use Moth Guard, found on the web, for wool rugs, purses, etc. Not for clothing because I use Dr. Bonners Eucalyptus wash for those.
When I store my woolens I stick a fabric softener in each bag. It's the scent that deters moths and other munching insects so I use scents that aren't quite so unpleasing to me.
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